Opposition Presses Government on Halted Mammogram Services

Montserrat’s Opposition has raised alarm over the suspension of mammography services on island.

During the September sitting of the Legislative Assembly, Opposition Member Nyota Mulcare pressed the Acting Minister of Health, Dwayne Hixon, to explain why mammogram services, introduced less than a year ago, had been discontinued.

“Mammogram services are vital for breast health and early detection of serious conditions, including breast cancer,” Mulcare said. “What urgent steps and timelines are being put in place to restore this critical component of women’s health and care, and to ensure that residents are not placed at greater risk due to this absence?”

The Acting Minister responded that staff and logistical challenges had affected the service, but said the Ministry was continuing to “explore options to resolve the challenges.”

Mulcare pressed further, questioning what urgent measures were being implemented to recruit and retain qualified staff in the laboratory, pharmacy, and radiology divisions, warning that staff burnout, service backlogs, and risks of radiation overexposure were serious concerns.

Hixon outlined several initiatives underway across departments:

Laboratory: A submission has been made for the creation of a laboratory assistant post, with resubmissions for funding in upcoming fiscal years. A substitute technician has been engaged until six permanent posts are filled, and two government scholars are currently studying biomedical science, with returns expected in 2026–27 and 2027–28.

Pharmacy: Recruitment for vacant posts has taken place, with a substitute pharmacy technician engaged. Two students are studying pharmacy under government scholarships, while a proposal to add a pharmacy technician post has been submitted for 2026–27.

Radiology: A proposal was submitted in 2024–25 for an additional radiographer, resubmitted this year for 2026–27. A locum is currently in place until March 2026.

Hixon added that automation in these departments, including a pharmacy information system, laboratory management system, and radiology software, has improved efficiency and reduced manual workloads.

Substantive Minister Speaks

Health Minister Dr. Ingrid Buffonge later addressed the issue directly with Discover Montserrat, acknowledging that the challenges in radiology have become a major risk.

“It has been a huge challenge covering the ultrasound, CT and mammogram services at the radiology department at Glendon Hospital,” she said. “The major delay in the mammogram service now approaching one year is a huge risk to take in our very isolated population. The health team is working on extremely urgently needed solutions, additional radiographers will have to be flown in for this and we are very anxious for this to start.”

Dr. Buffonge linked the delays to both breast and prostate cancer care. “October is breast cancer awareness month, the reminder that we must take early diagnosis and screening seriously. Thus it is upsetting that we arrive at this month in this situation. There have also been major delays in CT scanning – this will have an impact on emergency care and in cancer diagnosis. September was prostate cancer awareness month. We know that one in four Black men will have prostate cancer. That’s one in four men needing a staging CT.”

She added that while Montserrat has expanded endoscopy services to detect gastrointestinal cancers earlier, CT scanning is critical to staging those cases. “Without staffing solutions we shall retrogress as we slow down on sending patients abroad for imaging while at the same time taking too long to scan them locally,” she said.

Bound both by her ministerial role and medical training, Dr. Buffonge said she is committed to pressing for solutions. “Bound both by my responsibility as Health Minister and by the Hippocratic Oath, I strive to work with others in the Ministry of Health to press on with finding the very urgent staffing solutions required to solve this problem.”

She also noted the setback for local patients and for the Pink Ribbon Charity Montserrat Inc. “Mammograms were to be done by October of last year. They have not been done in adequate numbers. The Pink Ribbon charity has been less active having made the assumption that patients would be receiving mammograms locally. Unfortunately, the radiographers at Glendon were not able to respond to the workload due to inadequate numbers of staff to match the load.”

The Ministry had announced the start of mammography services in 2024, a move hailed as a major breakthrough in women’s healthcare, eliminating the need for women to travel to Antigua or further afield for exams. However, the service was offered for less than six months before being suspended due to staffing challenges.

Breast Cancer Awareness Walk

The issue comes as Montserrat prepares for its annual breast cancer awareness activities. This Saturday, the 16th annual Breast Cancer Awareness Walk, organised by Pink Ribbon Charity Montserrat Inc., will be held. Since 2009, the charity has raised funds to help women cover the cost of mammograms in Antigua.